Scotland Bans Fox Hunts
and A Dog's Top 8 Favorite Beatles Songs

"The English country gentleman galloping after a fox—the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable."

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

EDINBURGH (Scotland) — Following years of culminating protests and intense debates, the Scottish Parliament has made a momentous, historic (and very controversial) move by banning the centuries-old tradition of the fox hunt.

On Wednesday, legislators met and hashed it out for over six hours before passing the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) bill by a vote of 83 to 36, reports the Guardian Unlimited.  In the bill, the mandate is clearly emphasized: mounted fox-hunting, fox-baiting and hare-coursing will be a criminal offense in Scotland punishable by a £5,000 fine or up to six months in jail.

Fox-hunting, which dates back to the 15th century, is an activity in which packs of hounds are traditionally goaded into tracking and killing the prey.  Hunters say that the fox is killed by "a quick nip" to the back of the neck, but documentation and photographs clearly show that the hunted animal may suffer considerably (source: The Cheshire Fox Hunt, Dec. 20, 2001).

In 1999, an unbiased British committee was appointed to investigate the aspects of the hunt (for information, visit the website www.huntinginquiry.gov.uk).  The committee prepared a 223-page report which summarized the following arguments (from Chapter 6, page 107):

6.3 Those in favour of hunting with dogs tend to argue that:

• death is very quick and certain: either the quarry is killed or it escapes. Unlike shooting, there is not the risk of leaving a wounded animal which may suffer greatly before it dies

• the chase is a natural aspect of life and death in the case of wild animals

• a quick death at the hands of a predator is preferable to being run over or dying from disease or starvation

6.4 Those against hunting tend to argue that:

• animals suffer unnecessary distress during the chase, which can be artificially prolonged

• animals are not killed quickly and cleanly as is often claimed

• even those animals that escape may be damaged in ways which may mean that they continue to suffer afterwards.

In a less popularized but equally valid argument for animal welfare, the report also mentions injuries and fatalities of the dogs (Foxhounds, Beagles, Bassets and Harriers) during and after the chase, notably: "the common practice of putting hounds down after some six or seven years’ hunting when they are judged to have come to the end of their working lives."

(Click here to adopt "Edgar" the Basset Hound!)

Although last month England and Wales similarly voted to ban fox-hunting by a 387 to 174 vote, that bill is expected to be held up by the House of Lords for at least several months to a year before being passed into law south of the Scottish border.  In the meantime, anti-hunting sentiment is gaining momentum in the UK and is being supported by several high-profile celebrities including ex-Beatle Paul McCartney.

Sir McCartney wrote in a recent letter to the government: "We want to live in a country where it is illegal to inflict pain and suffering by hunting wild animals with dogs—an activity that we along with most British people believe is cruel, unnecessary and outdated."

Scotland's enactment of the fox-hunting ban was met with celebrations of anti-hunt advocates all over the UK.  One campaigner, Graham Isdale, said: "Scotland is taking a lead in the UK, in the rest of Europe, and possibly in the rest of the world."  Another supporter, Susan Small from Edinburgh added: "Scotland is saying to the world that it does not accept an outdated and barbaric practice.  Who knows where this could now lead?"

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In keeping with The Scoop's not-so-newsworthy tradition of bringing you irrelevant bites of follow-up info, Senior Editor "Wags", a big fan of Paul McCartney, insists on sharing his favorite Beatles songs with you.

As we all know, dogs with their dewclaws removed can only count to eight on their pads (with the exception of Molli the Math Dog), so we now present the following Top 8 List...

Of course now Wags has to add:

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